[The Shadow 56] • The Crime Crypt

THE CRIME CRYPT was originally published in the June 15, 1934 issue of The Shadow Magazine. Hidden deep beneath the mansion of Cecil Armsbury is the crime crypt. The mild-mannered, old explorer is, in actuality, a master criminal who will test all the powers of The Shadow in this early magazine story. Young Martin Havelock is the sole surviving relative of old Cecil Armsbury. And after all these years, he's back from Mexico; back and staying with his Uncle Cecil. Old Cecil Armsbury devises a test for his nephew. He feigns illness and gives young Martin the opportunity to poison him with an overdose of his medicine. Young Martin can't resist. Instead of three pills, he dissolves eight in a glass of water. Enough to kill his uncle. Old Cecil Armsbury catches Martin in the act; his nephew is an attempted murderer. But rather than being outraged, he's pleased. Yes, he's confirmed that crime does indeed run in the family. For old Cecil, himself, is a cunning criminal. And he's looking for a partner. Now, in his nephew, he's found one. So young Martin finds himself, not an heir to forty thousand dollars, but a partner to Uncle Cecil in planned crime that will exceed a million dollars. The crime will be to steal object that are worthless and murder the witnesses. It all sounds strange, so Cecil Armsbury goes on to explain. Over the years, Cecil Armsbury gained fame as a discoverer of unknown relics. But he kept the actual relics in his vault and sold fakes to collectors. By doing this, he has amassed an illegal fortune. But now he's old and wants to remove all evidence of his crimes so he can retire after one final crime spree. That means he, with the aid of his nephew, must steal back the counterfeit relics and murder anyone who can attest to their dubious origin. Crime runs in this family. Young Martin Havelock has a criminal history of his own. It turns out he hasn't actually been in Mexico all these past years. No, he's been carving out a reputation all over Europe. There, he is known as the international crook Duke Larrin, the smooth crook who has worked in Paris, Berlin, Vienna, along the Riviera. So we have quite a pair, here. A dynasty of crime, headed by Cecil Armsbury. And Uncle Cecil is well prepared. Hidden far below his large old house is a dimly lit crypt containing the spoils acquired over the many years. Young Martin is astounded to find Golden Buddhas with glittering emerald eyes; strange scrolls of yellow metal; spoils from Chinese palaces; from Hindu temples; from Persian mosques. These are the treasures that lie here secretly while their fake counterparts lie in private collections and museums. It's time for crime to strike! Young Martin, using his alter-ego of Duke Larrin, will head up a band of clever workers. The crime crypt, far below the sprawling Armsbury house, will be his headquarters. There, as leader, he will give his orders and send his henchmen forth to do their dirty work. And all the while, Uncle Cecil will remain upstairs in the mansion, innocently making plans. The Shadow enters the story when his agents report that the famous international crook Duke Larrin has arrived in New York. They have no idea that Duke Larrin is just a pose. They don't suspect that Martin Havelock is really one of two partners in crime; the other, being Cecil Armsbury. And it will test The Shadow to his utmost to uncover that information. And to discover the secret headquarters of villainy, the crime crypt. Agents assisting The Shadow in this pulp mystery are Cliff Marsland, the agent who plays the part of a gangster in the underworld, Clyde Burke, reporter for the New York Classic, and Burbank, contact agent of The Shadow. A smaller group than normal with no sign of Harry Vincent. As to the other well-known agents of The Shadow, Hawkeye had been introduced as an assistant of Slade Farrow a few issues earlier, but he wasn't yet an agent of The Shadow and partner of Cliff Marsland. Hackie Moe Shrevnitz wouldn't be introduced for another six months. New York's finest is represented by ace detective Joe Cardona, Inspector Timothy Klein and Detective Sergeant Markham. But no Commissioner Weston; not in this story. It's an early story in the eighteen-year saga of The Shadow. One tell-tale sign is that The Shadow wears his girasol ring, but no one is allowed to see it: "Crooks who had met him had never seen the hands themselves. Long white fingers and the sparkling girasol were tokens of recognition that none had ever gained."In later stories, The Shadow took to wearing the fabulous ring openly both as The Shadow and in his guise as Lamont Cranston. But in this early story, it was still being kept secret. Some of the locales often featured in the early stories show up here. Two underworld dives, the Pink Rat and The Black Ship, both appear. As does the Hotel Spartan, the decadent structure on the East Side where gangland's elite reside. The Shadow has an international reputation. This was often mentioned in the early stories, but seemed to fall out of use in later years. Duke Larrin, being familiar with Europe's crime, admits: "I have heard of The Shadow in cities other than New York. He has been in Paris, London, Berlin, Moscow, Madrid - yes, and in Rome. He has struck at crime in all those capitals; and he has vanished as quickly as he has arrived."And The Shadow, master of languages as well as master of the dark, gets another chance to show his mastery here: "The Shadow was reading the Arabic inscription as easily as if it had been English." The Shadow is also the ultimate master of disguise. In this pulp story, he appears as Professor Sturgis Dilling, a stoop-shouldered old man who visits the Egyptian Museum. He also dons the guise of Croaker Mannick, a gun for hire whose pastime is cold-blooded murder. But The Shadow spurns his most famous disguise of all, that of world traveler and millionaire Lamont Cranston. There's so sign of Cranston in this story. The cover of this issue is a most memorable, if inaccurate, one. It shows two statues of medieval armor flanking an Egyptian sarcophagus, propped upward on its end. Inside the ancient coffin stands a wrapped mummy, but the cloth wrappings have been removed from part of the face, revealing the burning eyes and hawklike nose of The Shadow! It's a terrific cover, but, unfortunately, doesn't accurately reflect events in the story itself. Yes, The Shadow does hide in the sarcophagus, in order to infiltrate the crime crypt. But, no, he isn't dressed in the gauze bandages of a mummy. He's dressed in his usual garb of black cloak, gloves and slouch hat. Still, the cover does make a striking picture. One that, I'm sure, sold a few magazines on its merits alone. Not that the story needed any extra help. It's a terrific story that definitely stands on its own. It's the "early" Shadow at his bloodthirstiest, drilling those crooks right through the heart with no pause or regret. Crime does not pay... as The Shadow repeatedly demonstrates!